Shuttered Mission District Sports Bar Makes a Comeback Under New Owners and Name

After a full decade of slinging shots and sandwiches near the intersection of 16th Street and Valencia in the Mission, popular sports bar Giordano Bros. announced its closure back in February. But the bar is back — kind of — this time with two new owners and a new name: Rudi’s Sports Bar and Restaurant. Mission Local broke the news Thursday, the same day Rudi’s flung open its doors at 3108 16th Street.

The new owners have no meaningful connections to Pittsburgh aside from their shared love for the Steel City-themed sports bar but nevertheless, say they plan to retain the bar’s Pirates and Steelers decor, as well as the staff and the menu. There will be a few changes, however; because of the owners’ UK roots (Rudi Rughoonundon was born in the United Kingdom and Ollie Pender hails from Ireland, Mission Local reports) they plan to add a full English breakfast including eggs, sausage, grilled tomato, beans, and toast to the menu.

Emeryville Caribbean restaurant makes its belated debut

Calypso Rose Kitchen, the Caribbean restaurant from chef Verna McGowan, opened its doors on August 20 inside Emeryville Public Market, Berkeleyside reports. You may remember that McGowan worked as a personal chef to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker and draws on her personal experiences — “from growing up in New York with a Caribbean and Southern upbringing, to learning about Guayanese cuisine from her mother-in-law and Puerto Rican food from friend” — at the new restaurant.

Inside Oakland’s new French restaurant the Rendez-Vous

There’s a new French restaurant called the Rendez-Vous open at 5526 Martin Luther King Jr Way, Berkeleyside also reports. Husband-and-wife owners Johnelle Mancha and Brian Hill were inspired to start the project by “a culinary-focused trip to a petit manor in France” and hired chef Nate Berrigan-Dunlop (Pizzaiolo, Starline Social Club) to head up the kitchen, which puts out plates such as “beet-cured halibut with pickled watermelon rind ($18)” and “shrimp tartine with Calabrian chiles and avocado ($18).”

California’s new bartender licensing law kicks in on September 1

The Marin Independent Journal reminds all service workers in California that the state’s new Responsible Beverage Service training program kicks in on September 1, at which time anyone serving alcoholic beverages in the state needs to be certified. As Eater SF reported in June, that’s about 1 million people. Earlier this summer San Francisco’s bar and restaurant lobbies called for an extension of the deadline due in part to the fact that the mandatory training is only available in English and Spanish so far.

Moonbelly Bakery begins selling croissants in East Sacramento

Residents of East Sacramento have a new neighborhood bakery located at 6511 Folsom Boulevard, the Sacramento Bee reports. Moonbelly Bakery is officially open and serving croissants, breads, coffee, tea, and “more than 15 flavors of jarred preserves” in an intriguing array of flavors such as cherry rose petal, cherry strawberry jam, and pear vanilla bean.

Outside Sunset Korean restaurant Hotline switches up service

Fans of Korean restaurant Hotline may have noticed the business liquidating a bunch of appliances and equipment in the past couple of weeks; now we know what the owners, who are also behind Queens Korean superette in the Inner Sunset, have planned. On Instagram, the owners announced simply, “Hotline is now a junghwa bistro,” posting photos of a new menu and a dining room more well-suited for dine-in and full service. Formerly the restaurant was built primarily for delivery and takeout.